Larry Ellison launched new Oracle systems on Wednesday that he claims will be the cheapest on the market—a big change for a company that’s charged a premium for performance in the past. And it’s effectively an admission that Cisco and EMC may have read the market better: Pricing has sometimes been an “impediment” for customers, Ellison said. The three are competing with systems that combine servers, storage, network and software.

Samsung and Blackberry deal may still be on the table

Despite the companies’ denials, Samsung Electronics is still interested in acquiring Blackberry, Canada’s Financial Post reports. The newspaper got hold of a document prepared for Samsung by an investment bank suggesting that Samsung offer between US$13.35 and $15.49 per share, valuing Blackberry between $7 billion and $8 billion (BlackBerry shares closed Wednesday at $9.93).

Google is getting ready to resell wireless service directly to consumers via deals it’s made with Sprint and T-Mobile US, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing unnamed sources. The move would shake up the competitive picture in the mobile telecom space and could mean better prices and service for customers.

Prosecutors weave tighter web in Silk Road case

Federal prosecutors seeking to prove in a Manhattan court that Ross Ulbricht is Dread Pirate Roberts, the anonymous mastermind who ran the Silk Road online market, strengthened their case with chat logs and private journals Wednesday. They introduced computer files that appear to show the laptop Ulbricht was using at the time of his arrest was also used to manage the Silk Road during 2011 and 2012.